


EAD 2017

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-20 12:54:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9491738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: A collection of snippets offered up for EAD.  This are unrelated and may not all end up as full works.





	1. His Monkeys

His job had always felt like it was part guiding the best minds toward tasks that best fit their skills, part playing firefighter, and part something else. 

Some days, unfortunately, it was his circus and those were his monkeys.

He loved his team.  Sure, they all had their quirks and some had more quirks than others, but he loved them and strove to protect them.  Even from themselves.

**_*ONE._ **

He looked out into the main office space of the Houston field office and couldn’t help but rub his temples.  Due to the nature of their case, he had decided to bring their eccentric analyst along which was probably how he ended up in a position of watching his entire team (of adults, mind you) dancing to what he suspected was music from some Disney movie.

“Gonna stop them?”

Hotch opened eyes that he hadn’t realized he’d closed and turned to his friend.  “I should.”

“That’s not what I asked.”  David lifted his mug to his lips.

“Why are they dancing in the middle of a field office during a case?”  He knew Dave had been out there when this all started.

“Apparently, everyone was getting twitchy and needed a break for a minute.”

He sighed, “Can you make sure they wrap it up soon?”

“What? You aren’t going to go out there?”  Rossi smirked.

“I’m going to go over these files again.”  Hotch turned back to the table and watched as his friend left the room again.

**_*TWO._ **

Reading the email a third time, Hotch was torn between completely believing what the sender was claiming and wanting to still deny it whole heartedly.  The team had just wrapped up a case in small town Iowa.  A town where the local men apparently felt they lacked in available beautiful women.  Now he was reading an email from the Sherriff stating that one of his men had reported difficulties with his credit cards and bank accounts and did Agent Hotchner have any ideas about it.

Well, Hotch had several really good ideas about it.

He headed out of his office and across the bullpen.  When he got to the closed office he knocked and waited to be acknowledged.

“What can I do for you, Boss Man?”

“While we were in Iowa, was there a problem with an Office Carter that I should have been made aware of?”

“Umm, no.  No problem.  Why?” She failed to make eye contact.

“I received an email from his superior stating Officer Carter was having some problems with credit cards and other financial things since we’d left.  He was given the impression from his Officer that there may have been a connection to this team.”

Garcia swallowed, “I have no idea sir.”

He nodded and turned to leave.

“He copped a feel.”

Hotch hesitated, then turned to face her.  “Is that all?”

She shook her head.

“I know you don’t like the rest of us fighting your battles, but it really is in my job description to make sure everyone has a safe work environment.”

“I know sir.”

Tugging the door open, “I expect all current work to be done before you do any extracurricular type work.  Do you understand?”

Garcia broke into a big grin, “Yes sir.”

**_*THREE._ **

Northern Michigan in mid-January was nothing short of an icy mess.  Hotch wasn’t sure how JJ had procured six pairs of ice cleats to slip over their shoes as fast as she had, but he was thankful.  Twice already he’d slipped spectacularly on slick sidewalks, but so far had managed to stay upright.  He couldn’t say the same for the rest of his team.

The team was returning from lunch, carefully picking their way along.  JJ and Emily had taken to walking in the snow beside the walkway, sacrificing dry pantlegs for the possibility of more traction.  Dave was leading the way into the building with Morgan and Reid climbing the concrete steps behind him. 

In a flurry of activity several things happened at once.  A pair of local officers shoved open the front doors of the building in a hurry, which caused Rossi to stop short on the top step.  The commotion of their rushed chatter made Reid’s head snap up from where he’d been watching his steps, and Morgan slipped for a split second, bumping into his friend.

Emily and JJ both shouted and tried to lunge to stop the inevitable, but they were just too far away.  Hotch and the rest of the team watched in horror as the youngest member of the team lost balance and soared backward, landing on the sidewalk at the base of the stairs, head bouncing with a resounding crack.

The split second felt like it lasted an hour.

The entire team rushed to their friend who lay unmoving on the ground.  A small spot of blood colored the ice where his head had impacted.  Emily was checking Reid’s pulse while Morgan and JJ were trying to rouse him.  Hotch looked up at Rossi who was calling for an ambulance.

==

Hotch sat in the small ER exam room and watched his youngest agent sleep.  The doctors had declared his only injuries a concussion and a small head lac.  There was no doubt that when Spencer woke up, he’d have one hell of a headache.

“Ow.  Shit.”  Reid lifted a hand to his head as he came to.  “What happened?”

“What do you remember?”  Hotch tipped his head to try and make eye contact.

“We went to lunch.  We were headed back.”

“A pair of officers came out to say they had possibly picked up the UNSUB and you fell down the stairs out front of the building.”

Spencer reached around and prodded the back of his head, frowning.

Hotch pulled his hand away, “Leave it alone.  If you stay awake this time, they’ll discharge you.”

“This time?”  He tried to feel his head again and had his hand pulled away again.

“We’ve had this conversation three times already.  The doctors said it was totally normal.”

“I feel like my brain is too big for my skull.”  He squeezed his eyes shut.

Hotch chuckled.  “You’re going to have a killer headache for a while.”

“Was it our UNSUB?”  He tried again to feel his head, this time with the other hand.

“Yes, it was.”  Hotch reached across and tugged the other hand down, “If you don’t stop I’m going to have them restrain you.”

Reid stuck his bottom lip out in a pout.  “Do I have stitches?”

“Two.  You have to keep them dry and leave them alone.” 

“When can I leave?”  Reid looked up at his boss with a hopeful look.

Hotch sighed, “I’ll go talk to the doctor.”

**_*FOUR._ **

“I love him, but that man has got to go!”

Hotch stopped what he was doing and stared at the person who had just materialized in his office.  “Come again?”

She jabbed one finger toward the bullpen, assortment of jewelry jingling as she moved.  “I understand that he got hurt on the job and has been benched, but if you make him stay here one more case, I promise even the great Agent Aaron Hotchner will not be able to find his body!”

He tried his hardest to keep a straight face.  He knew it was in his best interest to keep a straight face.  The shift in her gaze told him that he’d failed to pull it off.  What a time to have his poker face skills fail him.

“Do you think this is amusing?”  She took two steps toward him.

Hands up submissively, “No!  I’ll talk to him!  Maybe when we travel on cases I can get him to work from home.  Or maybe he can help the B-team for a couple weeks?”  He tried not to think too hard about how that last bit came out as a question.

“You better do something or Derek Morgan will be wiped from the face of this earth forever.  And you know that when I’m done there won’t even be proof that he’d been born!” 

He nodded and watched her storm out of his office. Once he knew the coast was clear, Hotch called Morgan to his office.

Morgan hobbled in on crutches and sat on the couch, “What’s up?”

Sighing and coming to sit in one of the chairs across from his agent, “I just had Garcia in here.  If the team travels anymore on cases while you are on restriction, you will work from home or be assigned to another team.”

“What?  Why?”  Morgan sat forward, hands out.

“She didn’t elaborate and I didn’t ask.  Perhaps you can figure it out and make it up to her?”

Morgan thought a minute, but came up with nothing, “Sure, I’ll figure it out.”

**_*FIVE._ **

“Dave.”

“I swear, it wasn’t intentional.”

A sigh, “Dave.”

“What’d you want me to do?  Blow her off?”

… “Yes.”

“Have you ever known me to blown a woman off?”

“I was sort of hoping this time would be different.”

“A drop dead gorgeous woman asks me to have a drink with her and hints that the drink could lead to more and you thought I might say no? … That’s the face you make when Jack has done something and you don’t know whether to laugh or punish him… I’m not a child.”

“No, you’re right.  You’re not a child.  You’re a sixty-year-old man with enough wives and other women behind him to have known enough to see through her ruse.”

“Aaron?”

Another sigh.

“Can you just drive now?”

“No.  I’m still debating making you get out and walk home.  I only really showed up because there was no way your message meant what it said.”

“You can’t make me walk.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“C’mon!  She took my wallet, even if I get all my cards back there was a thousand dollars in there that’s long gone, my phone and my car!”

“Everything’s replaceable, Dave.”

“Not everything.  If you make me walk home, my dignity will be gone forever.”

“Maybe if you hadn’t have taken your pants off, she wouldn’t have been able to steal them too.”

“I can’t believe you just said that.  That was something I would say.”

**_*SIX._ **

“We have a problem.”

“You are blowing this way out of proportion!  There’s no reason to tell…Shit.”  Emily appeared just behind Reid’s shoulder, both peering down at where Hotch had tucked himself away in the corner of the hotel’s breakfast area.  She glanced at her watch and then to the piles of paperwork, “How long have you been down here?  Did you even sleep?”

Reid turned and glared at her, “Problem, Em, problem.”

“It’s not a problem!  You didn’t need to rush down here to tell mom on me and try to get me grounded.”

Hotch opened his mouth to comment, but didn’t get the chance.

“You should be grounded!  You do remember being in a stand-off yesterday, don’t you?  You should have pulled yourself from the field!  What if you’d have been shot?”

“I was fine and I had my vest on and anyway, I wasn’t the one being shot at.  You were.  He was too busy believing you were the biggest threat to even pay attention to me closing in on him.”

“You could have been shot!  And that wasn’t the first time!”

“Time out.”  Hotch put up his hands and both agents’ heads swiveled to face him, seeming to have forgotten he was there.  “Now.  Reid.  Why should she be grounded?”

Prentis shot the younger man daggers, which he ignored.  “She’s known for months she’s pregnant.  I just found out.”

Hotch’s gaze snapped to hers, “You’ve known for months?”

Emily suddenly knew withholding that information wasn’t her best decision.  “Ah, yes.”

“Okay.”  He shut his folders and pushed them aside.  “You are off field duty effective immediately.”

“I’m fine Hotch!  I’ve been doing my job all this time with no problem.”  She threw her hands in the air.

“When are you due?”

“Eight weeks!”  Reid jumped in.  “She’s due in eight weeks!  Can you believe this!  She’s hidden it from us for months!  When were we going to find out exactly?  When you had to stop chasing someone because you were in labor?” 

Hotch put up a placating hand, “Reid, I need to talk to Emily alone.  Can you give us a few minutes?”

The man deflated, “Sure.”  And he wandered off.

Prentiss edged around a chair and sat, waiting.

“Emily…” He started slowly, “Who’s the father?”

She had the good sense to look a little guilty, “Reid.”

Hotch nodded, not really surprised.

**_*SEVEN._ **

The text had been short.  Shortly after midnight Hotch had received a message from Morgan, _Got my hands full.  Can you come help pour them into cabs?_

He’d wracked his brain trying to remember where the rest of the team had gone.  _Isn’t Dave with you?_

_No. He went home after the third bar._

_Third??_   He sat up in bed, awake now.

_The ladies decided on a Christmas Eve-Eve pub crawl.  They poured enough red and green drinks into Pretty Boy to get him to agree._

_Where do you need me?_

_Donnelly’s out by the base._

Stretching, Hotch stood.  Jack had spent the night with his cousins so he was on his own for now.  _I’m on my way.  Give me thirty minutes._

==

Morgan was leaning against the brickwork of the bar keeping an eye on the foursome laughing and singing at the curb when a black SUV rolled to a stop directly in front of him.  He watched Hotch step out and round the front to stand beside him dressed in jeans and boots, puffy black coat zipped up and hat pulled down.  “Hey.  What’s with the ride?”

Hotch attempted a shrug, “This close to base, I just went and checked one out.  I’ll get everyone home in one piece this way.”  Looking over at the rest of his team who were attempting to sing Holly Jolly Christmas and failing spectacularly, “How much have they had?”

“I lost count.  At least they’re all happy drunks.”  Morgan pushed off the wall and knelt next to the group.  “Hey.  Our ride’s here.”

Four sets of wide eyes attempted to focus on him, “Where?”  Reid asked.  When Morgan pointed, all four turned and looked.

“Hotch!”  They all leapt, or attempted to leap, up and rushed to him.

He pulled the back door of the SUV open, “Get in and buckle up.  Someone’s going to have to climb in the back.”  He watched as JJ pushed Reid over the second row and let him tumble into the back seats.  “Behave and try not to sing to loud?”

Morgan watched everyone settle before climbing into the passenger seat, “Thanks, man.  Their singing was starting to cause problems in there.”  He glanced out the window.  “Garcia’s place first?”

“Yeah.”

==

 


	2. To Being Forgotten

Spencer chewed his lip and watched the woman he knew was Hotch’s ex-sister-in-law hurry out of his office, eyes red-rimmed from tears.  She’d arrived without warning halfway through their weekly briefing and their boss hadn’t hesitated at all to hand over the meeting and close the two of them into his office until midafternoon.

Turning back to the now open office, he tiled his head to see through the partially closed blinds a bit better.  In the dim room beyond, he could see his friend sitting at his desk, head in his hands.  Reid glanced around the bullpen and saw that no one else had noticed Jessica leave and so he closed his files and wove his way between desks and up the stairs.  When he reached the open doorway, his friend was still in the same position.  He glanced around a minute to see if anyone else was headed toward the office before silently stepping in and easing the door closed. 

As he approached, he studied Hotch’s body language.  Hair all askew, probably from running his hands through it like he did when emotions became a bit overwhelming.  His suit jacket was laying on the cabinet against the wall, shirt cuffs unbuttoned and rolled back once, whatever had been being discussed was serious.  And stressful.  Hotch still had his face buried in his hands, for him the ultimate sign of having been pushed to his absolute limit.

“Aaron?” he tried softly, not wanting to startle the obviously distressed man.  When he didn’t get a response, Spencer stepped up to the desk and carefully placed one hand on a blue pinstriped shoulder.  “Aaron?”  He hesitated when he realized the body under his hand was trembling.  Glancing around, Spencer wondered if this, whatever it was, would be better left to Rossi or maybe someone else.  Garcia was good with this sort of this, when push came to shove, she ran a grief group in her free time.

The trembling brought his attention back to the moment and Spencer decided he was here, he had to figure out how to deal with it.  Steeling himself against what might come next, Spencer placed both hands firmly on Hotch’s broad shoulders and pushed gently, trying to urge him to sit back.  “Aaron.  What’s wrong?”  He kept the pressure even until the man beneath him shifted back in the large chair, dropping his hands and resting his head back.  “Talk to me.”

Hotch stared blankly for a minute before trying to clear his throat, “Jessica and Haley’s father, Roy, he, umm, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple years ago and… He doesn’t like because of- of what happened and he’s never been shy about letting me know that at every opportunity.  When it got to where he couldn’t live on his own, Jessica was getting upset because he didn’t want to go into a home and her place was too small.  We talked and I’ve been helping her with the difference of a bigger place but… he really needs more.”

When the room was silent again, Reid let out the breath he’d been holding.  He understood what they were going through. “I’ve done some research.  Maybe- maybe I could help?”

Aaron final turned his head and made eye contact, “You’d do that?”


	3. Hug A

 The poor vest was a mess.  Rossi had joked solemnly, in an attempt to break some tension, that it had earned a proper line-of-duty funeral and its photo on the Wall of Heroes.  Hotch had managed to hear and had threatened to fire him. 

And sadly, the vest wasn’t the whole story.  After an ambush hit by a twelve gauge shotgun, the wearer of said vest had been jumped while they were down and catching their breath, and the beating had started.  Their sidearm had been recovered later from under a cabinet where it’d clattered away. 

When it was all said and done, the agent had taken another two rounds from a handgun to the vest, this time at close range and to the back before the unsub acquired a single shot to the forehead.  Sometimes keeping them alive to stand trial simply wasn’t in the cards.

It had taken two EMTs and four irritated agents to wrangle the battered one onto a gurney and into the back of the ambulance.  Five hours and a full set of x-rays later, the damage was announced.  The shotgun shot had caused widespread bruising to soft tissue and several small hairline fractures to ribs.  The beating resulted in one very black eye, bruising to cheek and jaw, and a cracked tooth besides the split lip and broken nose.  The two shots to the back had also bruised soft tissue as well as managed to bruise one kidney and two ribs. 

Ice, high-octane pain killers, and lots of taking it easy were prescribed.  Emily had snorted when the doctor had given that instruction.


	4. Unmoving

Unfortunately, when a member of the team fell during a pursuit, the rest of the team had to keep pushing forward.  They couldn’t let their unsub get away over something as silly as tripping over a piece of debris.  No one gave a second thought to passing one of their own by, leaving them to catch back up, until they didn’t.  Until everyone turned around long minutes later and their teammate was still on the ground.  Unmoving. 

Then time stood still.

=====

They had just gotten off of an eleven day case in upstate New York.  It had been grueling and long days of wading through crime scenes that were utter bloodbaths.  Aaron Hotchner had sent the rest of the team straight home; twelve plus hour days were showing their wear.  He had pulled a few all nighters himself plus even more time in his room once they’d all gone back to the hotel.  He wasn’t entirely sure at this point if any of them were safe to drive.  A knock at his door had him looking up from his desk.

“I thought you said everyone needed to go home?”

He smiled at his long time friend, occasionally he wondered how the older man could keep up with the much younger team of agents, “I will be.  I just needed to drop these files and get some others.  Why are you here?”

“I needed to pick up my manuscript.  I left it here before.”

Hotch nodded and watched Dave saunter away.  He returned to his task and then headed home.

=====

The phone had rang much too early.  Hotch sighed as he realized four hours was all the sleep he was getting.  He really felt bad about having to call his team and wake them up.  He’d requested all their files be sent straight to the jet, it would prolong when everyone needed to meet. 

Finally he made the calls, waking the very unhappy members of his team.  He couldn’t blame them.

=====

The flight to Illinois had been too short to get more sleep.  He shared with the team that they all had a full week off once they got back.  He’d made a deal.

Hotch sat across from Dave at the back and tried to chat.  The older man shrugged and said he was tired, was struggling with the lack of sleep.  Hotch told him it was no big deal, he could man the station and wait till his body adjusted.

=====

The day wore on.  Fatigue and heat weren’t a good mix and it was leaving them all more than a little snappish and tense.  JJ had caused a LEO to take off in tears over a statement the young man had made to an unknown person who turned out to be a reporter.  Emily and Morgan had stopped her from actually pursuing the man to inflict a further tongue lashing.

Reid found Hotch standing in the hall staring at his phone.  The screen had long gone black, he couldn’t even remember why he had it out.  “Hotch?”

He looked at his subordinate silently.

“I think you should make Rossi go back to the hotel.  He’s having a hard time in there.”

“Hard time?”

“Forgetting his line of thought, forgetting a word, he’s done it a couple times.”

Hotch shook his head, “We all need to go.  We can’t work like this.”  He tucked his phone away and gathered his team to the room, “We’re heading to the hotel.  Gather what we need for tonight, we’ll meet at seven.”

Emily looked at her watch, it was barely six in the evening, “A.M.?”

He turned back and nodded, “I’m going to go talk to the Chief, I’ll be right back.”  He walked to the other end of the building and found the chief and explained their situation.  He explained that they simply needed one night in order to be able to function.  The Chief understood and promised to call only if it was supremely urgent.

When Hotch returned, everyone was waiting; he motioned for them to head out.

=====

Morning found them all much more relaxed and awake, ready to face the case at hand.  Rossi assured Hotch he was fine and ready to work.  The sleep did him good.

As they arrived at the station, the Chief stepped out in a rush and said there was a lead.  They may have spotted a guy fitting the description. The team rushed to their vehicles and followed the squad cars, lights and sirens going.

They ended up in a foot pursuit with the unsub along a wide trail.  The space was clear save for the odd root poking through the dirt, occasionally causing someone to stumble.  Everyone was pressing forward, the sense of urgency filling the air.  The locals who knew this trail were in front with the BAU acting as backup.  No one stopped or thought anything of it when Rossi tripped and fell.

======

The locals had the unsub in custody.  The BAU team was standing, firearms tucked away, catching their breath.  Hotch looked around as he always did, accounting for his team.  “Where’s Dave?”

Everyone looked around and shrugged.

“I don’t think I’ve seen his since he tripped just before the clearing,” Morgan answered.

Hotch glanced at the others to see if anyone had seen his since.  When everyone shook their heads, he turned and started jogging back up the trail, the others following close behind.  A dozen yards up the trail lay David Rossi.  Hotch froze for a split second.

The others rushed forward to check on him.  JJ found a pulse as Morgan rolled the older man over onto his back, “Rossi?”

His eyes cracked open slightly and he attempted to speak.

Reid’s eyes widened and he took his friend’s hands in his and asked if he could squeeze them.  The younger man rushed back to their leader, “We need an ambulance.  Tell them he’ll need TPA.”

Spencer was already turning back when Hotch asked, “What?”

“TPA.  I need to see if anyone has aspirin.”

Hotch dialed for the ambulance and passed on the message.  The person on the other end asked if the patient was on any treatments for stroke prevention and Hotch hated admitting he didn’t know.

Emily appeared, running back up the trail, Hotch hadn’t even seen her leave, waving something in her hand before passing it to the young genius. 

Spencer leaned in and said something to the man on the ground before maneuvering the pills under his tongue.

It seemed like forever before the paramedics appeared with a backboard to take their teammate away.  Spencer followed along, exchanging information as they went.

The remainder of the team stared silently at where Rossi had been on the ground.

Suddenly Morgan broke the silence, “I’ll drive.”


	5. Impact

“Morgan, you and JJ take the side entrance, Rossi and Reid take the rear, I will head in with SWAT. Remember, this guy isn’t likely to come quietly.” Hotch directed his team as they prepared to capture their UNSUB, a man in his mid-forties by the name of Hugo Gunt. He had targeted thirteen families in the Baltimore area, picking them off through the windows of their homes Gunt didn’t seem to have any obvious motive and the families all seemed fairly random. It was a lucky break that the neighbor of one unfortunate family was a firm believer that everyone was out to get him and had a security system that made Garcia weak-kneed. The system included state of the art cameras that covered every inch of the exterior of his home as well as part of the surrounding yards and the street.

All three teams burst in and the calls of ‘clear’ started. The SWAT team turned and headed up the front staircase as Rossi and Reid headed up the far back one. As Hotch stood downstairs, assessing the room with JJ and Morgan, suddenly there were multiple shouts from above their heads. All three agents instinctively ducked at the sound of a single gunshot. There was a moment of silence before the rapport of SWAT firearms going off. It was the frantic sound of Rossi shouting for medical that got the three agents rushing the stairs. --- Hours later, the four members were pacing in the waiting room, eager to hear news. Hotch couldn’t get the memory of what they had found when they got upstairs out of his mind.

SWAT was checking Gunt, who had been prepared with a Kevlar vest and would likely survive long enough to go to jail while Rossi knelt, hovering over the younger agent on the floor. Blood pooled around the two agents, Rossi was already soaked as he tried to assess the damage and find a pulse.

JJ paled when she realized the bits floating in the blood were bits of skull and possibly grey matter.

“He still has a pulse, but not for long.” Rossi looked up.

Morgan rushed to rip off his shirt to help stop some of the flow. “Can this even be survived?”

The surgeon had told them the odds were not in Reid’s favor, but the fact he survived to get to the OR was a good sign. There had been no word since.

Morgan suddenly stood, drawing the attention of the others, as a doctor approached.

“Family of Spencer Reid?”

“That’s us.” Morgan answered.

“Is there any way to reach next of kin? Whoever has the power to make medical decisions?”

“That’s…” Hotch cleared his throat, “That’s me.”


	6. On The Plane

“Hey, Rossi.”  JJ checked over her shoulder as she scurried to catch up with him, “I’ve talked with the others and they agreed too.”

He lifted his chin in acknowledgement, “I am about to talk to the Chief, wanna join me?”

“Sure, the faster we get this into action, the better.”  She fell into step beside him.

“Garcia at the ready?”  He raised his hand and knocked on the frame of the Chief’s door.

“As always.”

“Come in,” the Chief called out, “How may I help you agents?”

“I was hoping we could have a moment of your time, privately?”  Rossi smiled.

“Is something wrong?”  Chief Saunders, a greying man in his sixties, asked.

“No, it’ll all make sense in a minute.”  He pushed the door shut and followed JJ to the empty chairs.

“Less than a year ago,” JJ started, “Agent Hotchner lost his ex-wife and was left to raise his son on his own.  It’s something we’ve all helped and supported him with.”

Saunders nodded, “It must be hard.”

“Well, this weekend his son, Jack, is turning five.  The way this case is going, if Agent Hotchner stays, he’ll miss the first birthday since his ex passed away.”  Rossi crossed one leg over the other.  “We are going to take measures to prevent that from happening, but it will mean losing two agents for the remainder of the case.  We can work two agents down, we do it from time to time, I just don’t want you to think you’re getting shorted.”

He smiled, “I understand the situation and that things happen, he needs to be with his son now.”

Rossi stood and extended his hand, “We are hoping to negotiate Agent Hotchner and Agent Jareau to the airport tonight without too much issue.”

JJ spoke up, “Reid’s going.”

“What?”  He turned to her.

“Spence thinks he’ll be able to negotiate Hotch onto the plane and home with less of a fight.  He says he knows I can bully him into it, but he seems to think his way will be better.”

Saunders’ brows rose, “You bully him?  I would have expected it the other way around.”

Her only reply was a smile as she continued, “I’ll get the plan into motion.”

==

Spencer hurried around the corner and found where Hotch was negotiating with a vending machine for the release of a candy bar, it appeared the machine was winning. “Rossi had a lead and he said you and I should rush to follow up before we miss our window.”  He put a sense of urgency into his line.

Hotch frowned at the machine and his lost snack, “What lead?”

Spencer looked confused, “He didn’t tell you?  He said he’d tell you.  Oh well, there’s no time now to sort that out, come on, I’m driving.”  He tugged the sleeve of Hotch’s suit jacket to hint the man should follow him.

Hotch complied without question.

==

Twenty-five minutes into the drive, Hotch suddenly looked up from the file and squinted into the near darkness, “Where are we?”

“The airport.”  Reid answered like it was obvious as he guided the SUV through a private entrance and alongside the air field.

“Um, why?”

He ignored the question until he parked next to a small private jet, “We’re headed back to DC.  Tonight.  On that plane.”  Before Hotch could argue, he got out and shut the door.

Hotch stared out the window a minute before finally exiting and hurrying to catch up, “Why?”

On the second step, Spencer stopped and turned around, causing his friend to stop quickly to avoid crashing into him, “Because tomorrow is Jack’s birthday and his birthday party.  The first one since his mother died.  This team can live without you for the thirty-six or so hours it will take for you to go home and be Dad and come back.”

“The whole team was in on this?”

“Yes.  Rossi talked to Saunders and Garcia found the plane and pilot.  Morgan’s stepped up to lead and the only thing remaining is for you to board without a fight.”

He considered what his team had done for him, “Fine.  Let’s go.”

 


	7. Protection

Spencer looked around the house and frowned.  It had been three weeks since that last time he’d seen or spoken to Aaron or Jack.  Jessica had admitted to him finally that she’d not heard from them either and today she discovered Jack had been withdrawn from school.  Spencer was worried about what it all meant.  His worry had led to this, using his spare key to get into the Hotchners’ house to get answers. 

At first glance, the place looked normal, like maybe the occupants had just gone away for the weekend.  However, at closer look, Spencer noticed everything personal about the place was gone.  He went to the safe hidden in the dining room and tapped out the code.  The light flickered red instead of green.  Thinking a minute, Reid tried the factory preset code and the lock popped open, revealing an empty interior.  He spent the next hour searching every room, finding the same thing in each.  Everything personal, irreplaceable, was gone.  It was if father and son had simply vanished into thin air. 

Pulling out his phone, Spencer dialed Rossi, “I can’t find Hotch.”  He led with.  “I’m at his place and it’s like he never existed, everything personal is just gone and Jack was withdrawn from school.”

Spencer could hear his friend clear his throat, “Kid, there’s a box and an envelope, a big manila one, that got delivered earlier to my house.  It’s addressed to you with no return details.”

Mind racing, Spencer ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t understand.”

“Come here, Kid.  I think I’m starting to get an idea.  I’ll make some calls while I wait on you.”

==

After a minute, Spencer broken the end open and pulled out a stack of papers, flipping through them at his normal speed.  Once done, he stopped and looked up, “He’s signed everything over to me.  Everything.”

“Everything as in?”

Reid started to pass pages across as he spoke, “Deed to the house, title to both cars, his…” his voice cracked, “life insurance on both he and Jack.  This says I’m the sole beneficiary.  Full medical proxies for them and…”  he simply handed the last page to Dave.

Dave read over the document, “This gives you joint custody of Jack.”

He chewed his lip for several minutes before eyeing the box.  “I’m not sure I want to know what’s in there now.”

“Do you want me to open it?”

Reid nodded.

Dave pulled out a pen knife and opened the box.  He pulled out stacks of photos and other mementos.  There were pictures Jack had drawn and things about the team.  “He didn’t take anything with him that could link him to any of us.”

==

==

When Dave announced that Hotch was gone, Spencer couldn’t hold back any longer.  The tears came unbidden and he broke down.  Garcia was the first to rush to his side, understanding why her friend was so upset.  She pulled him into her arms and held him until he was through. 

As Reid calmed, he felt other hands on him.  JJ and Tara were rubbing his shoulders, Rossi had a hand on his back, as did Emily.  Finally he sat up and wiped his eyes, “I’m sorry.”

“We get it, Spence, we all are devastated by losing him like this.”  JJ squeezed his arm.

“It’s not that.  Not just that.”  He looked up at his circle of friends, hoping that his revelation wasn’t about to make things worse.  Garcia had known about them since before they’d been a ‘them’ and Dave had worked it out along the way, but as far as he knew this was about to surprise everyone else.  “We were in a relationship.”

The room was quite till Emily asked, “Since when?”

“Umm…”  He twisted his hands together, “After Haley left?  There was an interview we did at a jail together, a death row interview.”

JJ’s jaw dropped, “That was like eight years ago.”

“Eight years nine months and seventeen days ago.  Four hundred and fifty-nine weeks.  Three thousand two hundred and thirteen days.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Spencer was just finishing loading a bag when Garcia entered his apartment.

She pressed a note card into his hand, “When you get to Tampa,”

“Tampa?”

She plowed ahead, “There is this awesome little diner right on the beach. On Sunday mornings they do a brunch and you can sit and watch the ocean. I’ve heard the view is just more than words.” She beamed at him, “It’s really something you can’t miss, so you have to promise me you will go to this diner for Sunday brunch. Okay?”

He found himself nodding, “I’m not entirely sure where I’m headed, but if I get down there, I promise to go.”

“No!” He saw her brow pinch together and the desperation in her eyes, “You have to go there first.”

Spencer swallowed and looked at her neat scrawl on the card. He’d left the Bureau and was taking time to figure out what he wanted to do.

A week and a half later, Spencer found himself sitting on the deck of the diner Garcia had directed him to. The food had been delicious and the staff polite. He sat with his feet in the sand and a coffee cooling in his hand as he watched the water and the people strolling by. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Spencer noted two men, one younger than the other, walking up to the deck and turned to offer a simple good morning. When his eyes met the older man’s, he froze. It was like being back two and a half years ago, the last time he saw those eyes. “You” he breathed.


	9. 187

Dave Rossi blinked into the beautiful Pasadena sunshine.  “Why are we on this case again?  One missing adult isn’t usually our thing.”

Hotch adjusted his glasses, “the university requested we come out.  Apparently one of their researchers hasn’t been heard from in several days and there’s some concern.”  He turned to watch the rest of the team descend the jet stairs, “They presented their reasoning to Garcia and I and we agreed to come out and take a look.”

Tilting his face to the sun, “A researcher?”  He thought a minute, “Is this another Reid we’re looking for?”

“I get that feeling.”

==

Morgan and Emily had headed to the university to talk to the dean who’d called them out while Dave, JJ and Garcia headed to the hotel to set up the conference rooms that had been reserved from them.  This wasn’t an official case in the sense that the local police were involved.  For now, this was a campus case.

Hotch and Reid climbed stairs, shoulder to shoulder, to the fourth floor of an apartment building.  Glancing at the paper in his hand, Reid pointed to the first door, “This is it.”

Hotch knocked firmly and stepped back, waiting for an answer.  When a short man with glasses opened the door, he asked, “Are you Leonard Hofstadter?”

Leonard paled at the sight of the suited man taking up much of his doorway, “I-uhh- I am. Yes.  And you would be?”

Hotch flashed his badge, “Agent Hotchner with the FBI.  I would like to ask you some questions.  May I come in?”

Swallowing down any other questions, he nodded and backed up, waving the agent in.  He started to push the door shut until his noticed Reid following behind, “Oh!  Are you FBI too?”

“Yes.  I’m Doctor Reid.”  He followed his boss to the couch where they began to sit.

“No!  I’m sorry, you can’t sit there.  That’s Sheldon’s spot. Just- here, you can sit here if you would like.”  He moved some books to clear a chair.  “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

“Someone from the university called us to report Doctor Cooper missing.  Apparently, he hasn’t been in to work in the past several days.  We’re here to start talking to all of his coworkers and friends to figure out what might have happened to him.  You are his roommate?

“Yes.  I am.”

Reid wandered the room studying everything, tuning the conversation out.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Umm, you now… it’s been… a few days.”

“Is that normal?”

Leonard twisted his hands together, “No?”

“No?”

“Look.  He wandered off, he’ll come back eventually.  We can’t watch him all the time.”

“We?”  Reid turned and asked.

“Umm, if you give me a second our neighbor, Penny?  She should be here too.”

Hotch nodded and let the young man text on his phone, standing to talk to Reid.

“Look and these.”  Reid fingered the edge of some certificates on a shelf.  “If I had stayed in research, this would have been me.”

==

Morgan and Prentiss had managed to talk to several other researchers at the college and had asked them all to come in for interviews.  Surely those who worked closest to the missing Doctor would know best what might have become of him.  They met up with the others in the hotel conference rooms to sort out a plan of action.  Reid had a map of Pasadena and a white board ready for a timeline up on one wall while Garcia was running credit card and phone logs. 

You will never believe these guys we talked to.  They’re like super-nerds, even compared to you, Pretty Boy.”

Reid ducked his head and blushed and their first interviewee entered.  “Am I in the right place?”  He peaked around the door.

“Yes, come in.”  Dave waved.  “Did anyone else come with you?”

“Uh, yeah.” 

Morgan stood, “We’ll split up then.”


End file.
